Jacksonville State is probably the biggest surprise in Conference USA this year. In their first season transitioning from FCS to FBS, the Gamecocks are not eligible for conference championships or bowl games. But that hasn’t stopped them from compiling a 7-3 record (5-1 in conference) that would have guaranteed at least some post-season play.
Instead, the Gamecocks will finish their 2023 campaign at home hosting Louisiana Tech, a team theoretically eligible for bowl games and conference championships but will appear in neither for a third season in a row.
Jacksonville State has found its success by excelling in an area where the Bulldogs have struggled on both sides of the ball - the running game:
While the Gamecocks are far from the best rushing team Tech has faced all year, RB Malik Jackson, QB Zion Webb, and QB Logan Smothers will look to take advantage of a Bulldog defense that has struggled against the run all season long.
And if you look closely, you’ll notice I listed two quarterbacks that aren’t afraid to run. That’s especially concerning for a Tech team that has struggled to contain mobile QBs.
And we know they’ll look to try to run over the Tech defense because of just how often they’ve run the ball this year, regardless of the opponent:
The most rushing attempts Tech has had in a game this year is 43 (against New Mexico State). Jacksonville State has run the ball more in all but two of their games so far this season.
But most teams that keep the ball on the ground that much do it to control the game pace. The idea is to let your defense rest while exhausting your opponent’s with long time-consuming drives. So a team’s ability to run the ball typically means they have a higher-than-average time of possession stat.
But not Jacksonville State. The Gamecocks only hold the ball for 43% of the game clock, the third least in college football.
And that’s because Jacksonville State doesn’t like to wait very long in between snaps:
Not only is Jacksonville State’s offense the quickest-to-snap among Tech opponents, but the Gamecocks are #1 in FBS football in seconds per play.
There are not a lot of teams like Jacksonville State, and maybe that’s why they’ve found success as quickly as they have in their first FBS transition year. And with their season coming to a close after Saturday's matchup, there won’t be anything holding this rushing attack back from fully taking advantage of a known Tech weakness.
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Nathan is also a contributor to gtpdd.dog, a lighthearted Louisiana Tech blog. Be sure to check out @gotechplsdntdie on Twitter.
